Coach sues Edinboro University, PASSHE

Monday

Feb 5, 2018 at 12:01 AMFeb 5, 2018 at 8:57 AM

Lawsuit claims male counterparts are paid 15 percent to 47 percent more and that officials became 'threatening' after complaints

EDINBORO — An Edinboro University of Pennsylvania coach is suing the university and the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education claiming gender-based pay disparity and retaliation by university officials after she challenged differences in pay.

Women's volleyball coach Melissa Soboleski claims in the lawsuit filed Jan. 25 in U.S. District Court in Erie that at the beginning of 2016 she earned 47 percent less than a male counterpart in another "Tier 1" sport. Soboleski was paid $64,344 annually. Three other Tier I head coaches, all male, earned as much as $120,872.

The salary of the lowest-paid male Tier 1 coach was $74,959 in 2016, although he was hired with no head coaching experience, according to the lawsuit.

Soboleski had been a head coach for more than a decade when she was hired by Edinboro in February 2005. She led Gannon University and Mercyhurst University teams to a number of conference and divisional playoffs and a Lady Lakers' Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference South Division championship.

In Soboleski's 12 seasons at Edinboro, the Lady Scots have earned NCAA Division II Atlantic Region playoff berths eight times and went 256-141, for the most wins for any volleyball coach in Edinboro University history.

"Unfortunately, despite her impressive experience, unwavering dedication and many outstanding professional achievements, coach Soboleski is paid substantially less than her similarly situated male counterparts for equal work," Soboleski's lawyers, Elizabeth Deemer, Sunshine Fellows and Chloe Zidian, of Pittsburgh, said in a prepared statement.

Edinboro University spokeswoman Angela Burrows declined to comment on the lawsuit Thursday.

The university will have the opportunity to respond to the lawsuit in court.

According to Soboleski's lawsuit, she first questioned the pay disparity in January 2015 during an annual job evaluation by university Athletic Director Bruce Baumgartner, also the university's deputy Title IX coordinator for gender equity in athletics.

Soboleski claims in the lawsuit that Baumgartner ignored her request to review the situation for more than a year. In March 2016, Baumgartner convened and chaired a committee to examine pay disparity.

Soboleski and two male coaches challenged Baumgartner's role in the examination due to concerns about his motivations, according to the lawsuit. Baumgartner recommends salaries and compensation adjustments for athletic department employees and would have recommended Soboleski's salary.

The coaches' complaint was filed in April 2016 with the university's director of social equity/Title IX coordinator, who investigated and reported his findings to PASSHE. PASSHE conducted its own investigation in the fall of 2016 and concluded that there was merit in Soboleski's gender-based pay complaint, according to the lawsuit.

Edinboro's social equity director recommended a substantial raise for Soboleski and other coaches to university President H. Fred Walker, who approved them, but salaries were not adjusted and Soboleski was told that there would be a third investigation, the lawsuit claims.

She ultimately received a "meager" raise that was far less than what Walker approved, according to the lawsuit, and the disparity between her salary and the salaries of male counterparts actually has increased, Soboleski's lawyers said.

Soboleski's current salary is $73,251, which is still lower than Tier 1 counterparts' salaries and lower than at least one male Tier 2 coach, according to the complaint. Edinboro University's football coach currently earns $81,625, according to the lawsuit. Football is a Tier 2 sport at the university.

Soboleski sued the university and its parent state system after the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission favorably reviewed her complaint, according to court papers.

EEOC issued right to sue notice to Edinboro University of Pennsylvania coach claiming gender-based pay disparity

The EEOC reviewed the complaint without ruling on the merits of the case and issued a notice of right to sue to Soboleski.

Soboleski filed her lawsuit Jan. 25 in U.S. District Court in Erie.

"It's uncomfortable and awkward to sue your employer," Fellows said in an interview Thursday. "But she'd exhausted all available internal avenues."

Soboleski, in the lawsuit, claims that Baumgartner retaliated after she filed the social equity complaint by repeatedly referring to the complaint, at times in an "intimidating" or "threatening" manner, and by refusing routine requests and impeding her ability to do her job, in one instance prohibiting her from taking a previously scheduled recruitment trip.

In August, Baumgartner's secretary filed an internal complaint against Soboleski for a purported misuse of funds, according to the lawsuit. Soboleski was cleared of any wrongdoing but since has been ostracized by her peers as a result of the accusations, according to the lawsuit.

The suit also claims that Soboleski has been shunned and is the target of hostility from colleagues due to her gender disparity complaints.

Soboleski has suffered "economic harm, emotional distress, mental anguish and loss of reputation" as a result, according to the lawsuit, and seeks economic, compensatory and punitive damages as well as equitable relief, legal costs and other appropriate relief from Edinboro University and PASSHE.

The lawsuit is meaningful for women coaches across the nation, Soboleski's lawyers said in their joint statement.

"A strong judgment could send a much-needed message that discrimination driven by sexism will not be tolerated in college athletics," they said.

Valerie Myers can be reached at 878-1913 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNmyers.

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